Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS

United States Patent 3,283,886 TAPE DISPENSER Edwin C. Addis, Florence, and Frederick C. Wilda, Hadley, Mass., assignors to Chart-Pals, Incorporated, Leeds, Mass., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Feb. 19, 1965, Ser. No. 434,084 5 Claims. (Cl. 20652) This invention relates to a tape dispensing means and more particularly refers to a dispenser for dispensing tape material comprising two tapes superposed on one another and stored in coil form in such dispenser.

In US. Letters Patent No. 3,035,690 dated May 22, 1962 issued to Louis A. Frohbach, entftled Forms for Printed Circuit Use or the Like, there is disclosed a roll of tape comprising, essentially, two tapes in superposed position, coiled so as to form a single roll. The top tape is adhesively coated at its underside to support an array of small die cut pieces or forms which are useful in the preparation of artwork for printed electrical circuits and the like. Each of these forms, in order to individually adhere to a drawing or layout, is provided at its underside with a pressure sensitive adhesive coating. The underside of these forms is protected by a bottom tape having relatively high release properties, such as a silicone release material. As has been described in the above identified patent, for use the lower or protective tape is peeled back from the upper tape while the upper tape with the forms adhered thereto is manipulated.

Similarly there exist various dry-transfer type lettering and symbol sheets which comprise a top sheet having at its underside releasable characters in the form of printed ink films and each such character, in turn, being provided with a pressure sensitive adhesive coating to adhere upon another surface to which a respective character is to be affixed. The transfer of a selected character is achieved by rubbing the top surface of the sheet at the location of this character, whereby the rubbing breaks the bond of the ink film with the sheet and afiixes the character to the underlying surface. Again, in most instances, the underside of the characters is protected with a bottom sheet. Instead of providing this material in sheet form, it will be apparent, that it may be furnished more conveniently in coiled tape form.

It has been found advantageous to package both of the above described materials in coil form and provide a dispenser which exposes but a small used portion of the tape while protecting the non-used portion. This has been accomplished by a novel tape dispenser which is designed to hold a coil of tape comprising two superposed tapes, which dispenses both tapes separated from one another and which discharges the tape carrying the transferable characters or forms in such a position as to render the latter suitable for immediate transfer.

A principal object of this invention is, therefore, the provision of a new and improved tape dispenser.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a tape dispenser which is adapted to hold and dispense tapes which are superposed on one another.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a tape dispenser for a coil comprising a pair of superposed tapes, the dispenser including means for separating both tapes and for feeding each tape through a separate exit aperture.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a tape dispenser having two distinct tape exit apertures and being provided with a burnishing tool extending from one of said exit apertures.

Further and still other objects of this invention will be more clearly apparent by reference to the following FIGURE 6 is a view along section line 6-6 in FIG- URE 3, and

. trudes from the dispenser.

The tape dispenser is provided with an internal hub to journal thereon a coil of tape comprising a pair of superposed tapes 21 and 22. The top tape 21 is fed from the coil toward the nose portion 14 and is discharged at the exit aperture 15 disposed at the distal end of the nose portion. The tape is discharged substantially at the elevation of the base in order to meet an underlying base sheet in parallel alignment. The bottom tape 22 also is fed together with the top tape to ward the aperture 15, but is guided about a transverse tape guide 16 disposed rearwardly of the aperture 15.-

The guide has a relatively blunt curved surface (FIGURE 2) so as to offer relatively low frictional resistance to the bottom tape 22 sliding thereabout. From the guide 16 the lower tape 22 enters a channel 17 which leads to an exit aperture 18 at which the bottom tape is dis charged. An aperture 19 in the top surface of the nose portion, disposed rearward of the distal end of the nose portion, provides finger access to the to tape inorder to push the top tape together with the bottom tape toward the aperture 15 to thereby feed tape when no tape pro- Conversely, by urging the tapes in the opposite direction, excess tape can be withdrawn into the dispenser, the blunt surface of the guide 16 offering little resistance to the tape movement in either direction. The numeral 21A indicates a typical character disposed at the underside of the tape 21 which, in this case, is to be transferred upon an underlying surface by rubbing the top surface of the tape. The aperture 19 is used also to hold the tape stationary during such character transfer and to provide a finger grip while tearing off excess protruding tape. The end surface 16A which constitutes the entrance to the channel 17 is sufiiciently spaced from the path of the top tape 21 and additionally is concave, as seen in FIGURES 2, 3 and 6, so that the top tape is contacted at its edges only, but is not engaged at the central character bearing portion, thus preventing damage to the characters prior to transfer thereof.

It may be noted that both tapes are discharged from the dispenser at the elevation of the base portion 13 and preferably as close to the underside of the tape dispenser as is convenient. As one character after another is transferred from the tape, the tape is pulled out of the dispenser. Since the underside of the tape 21 is provided with the characters, the lower tape 22 is peeled from the top tape as close to the front aperture 15 as is possible. But unlike with sheets where the protective sheet disposed at the bottom needs to be folded back during use of the characters over a comparatively large area, in the present arrangement the bottom tape is automatically and progressively removed only from the characters which are moved into position for transfer.

As seen more clearly in FIGURES 3 to 6, the dispenser is constructed from a pair of walled halves 31 and 32 which slidably fit over one another by means of circular flanges 33 and 34. The flanges form a hub for the coil of tape. Both halves preferably are moulded from transparents thermoplastics material. Except for the overlapping fianges, the dispenser halves form a butt joint along a central axis. The longitudinal channel 17 for guiding the lower tape from the transverse guide surface 16 away from the nose portion and toward the rear aperture of the dispenser is clearly apparent in FIGURES 3 to 5. This channel is formed by two abutting horizontally disposed U-shaped portions, the underside of one leg constituting the base surface of the dispenser.

FIGURE 7 shows a modification wherein the nose portion 14 at the aperture 15 of the dispenser is provided with an L-shaped burnishing tool 40- having a downwardly oriented burnishing surface 41 for rubbing the top surface of the tape 21 in order to transfer the character 21A upon an underlying surface.

'In order to load the dispenser, both halves are separated and a coil of tape is placed upon the annular flange 33. Then, the tapes are threaded toward the nose portion 14 and after passing the transverse guide surface 16, the protective bottom tape is peeled away from the top tape and inserted into the channel 17 in order that it may be discharged through the aperture 18 at the opposite end of the dispenser.

It will be apparent that the above described tape dispenser is characterized by utmost simplicity, yet provides important advantages for the particular use for which it has been designed.

While there has been described and illustrated a certain preferred embodiment of the present invention and a modification thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications may be made therein without deviating from the broad principle and intent of this invention, which shall be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

- 1. A tape dispenser for holding and dispensing tape portions from a coil made of two tapes in superposition comprising:

a walled housing including a base portion adapted to rest when dispensing tape on a substantially flat surface;

means disposed in said housing and elevated from said base portion for journaling a coil of tape comprising a bottom tape and a superposed top tape;

a nose portion extending from said housing and forming an integral part therewith;

said nose portion including at its distal end a tape discharge aperture by which the top tape is adapted to be discharged from said housing and nose portion substantially at the elevation of said base portion, and including a further aperture for manually contacting the top tape prior to it being discharged from said discharge aperture;

a transverse tape guide disposed in said nose portion rearwardly of said discharge aperture having a relatively blunt curved surface about which the bottom tape is adapted to be fed, said curved surface providing substantially low frictional contact with the bottom tape in order to permit the tape to be moved into and out of the dispenser by manual control exercised at said further aperture;

a channel disposed in said base portion for receiving the bottom tape and guiding it from said tape guide in a direction away from said tape discharge aperture, While the top tape is discharged from said dispenser through said aperture at the distal end of said nose portion.

2. A tape dispenser as set forth in claim 1 wherein the entrance to said channel in proximity to saidtransverse tape guide is spaced sufficiently from the path of the top tape so as not to interfere with adhesive characters afiixed to the underside of the top tape.

3. A tape dispenser as set forth in claim 1 wherein said channel traverses said base portion and discharges said bottom tape at the dispenser end opposite said nose portion.

4. A tape dispenser as set forth in claim 1 wherein a burnishing tool is disposed at the tape discharge aperture of said nose portion for rubbing a portion of the top tape extending from said discharge aperture.

5. A tape dispenser as set forth in claim 1 wherein said housing is constructed of two halves, each having a flanged portion which slidably mates with the corresponding other portion.

Claims (1)

1. A TAPE DISPENSER FOR HOLDING AND DISPENSING TAPE PORTIONS FROM A COIL MADE OF TWO TAPES IN SUPERPOSITION COMPRISING: A WALLED HOUSING INCLUDING A BASE PORTION ADAPTED TO REST WHEN DISPENSING TAPE ON A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT SURFACE; MEANS DISPOSED IN SAID HOUSING AND ELEVATED FROM SAID BASE PORTION FOR JOURNALING A COIL OF TAPE COMPRISING A BOTTOM TAPE AND A SUPERPOSED TOP TAPE; A NOSE PORTION EXTENDING FROM SAID HOUSING AND FORMING AN INTEGRAL PART THEREWITH; SAID NOSE PORTION INCLUDING AT ITS DISTAL END A TAPE DISCHARGE APERTURE BY WHICH THE TOP TAPE IS ADAPTED TO BE DISCHARGED FROM SAID HOUSING AND NOSE PORTION SUBSTANTIALLY AT THE ELEVATION OF SAID BASE PORTION, AND INCLUDING A FURTHER APERTURE FOR MANUALLY CONTACTING THE TOP TAPE PRIOR TO IT BEING DISCHARGE FROM SAID DISCHARGE APERTURE;